Kickas.org Forums Ankylosing Spondylitis General Discussion #1 AS Web Support Group Question about colds/flu

I am wondering if anyone else stays completely healthy throughout the cold/flu season? Last yr my hubby and son both got the bad flu that was going around. My son has been sick on and off, as well as everyone else I know it seems. I NEVER get so much as a sniffle! I was wondering if it may have something to do with an over-active immune system. I cant remember the last time i got sick.

Hi Jamie,

I think your question is interesting. I have also noticed that I don't get sick that often. I get a cold once in a while, but RARELY do I get the flu. Even when flu bugs are going around my school, I've never come down with them. Luck us I guess!

Em

I have to wonder if this is more an individual thing rather than related to immune system diseases. I feel that I have to be on constant guard during the winter months to keep from coming down with colds. I haven't had a full-fledged cold probably in two years, but I credit medicinal teas, extra sleep, vitamin C, etc. for that -- because it's not unusual for my tonsils to feel slightly tender (one of the first signs that I'm fighting something) or for my throat to feel slightly scratchy. As soon as I have the first symptoms, I'm babying myself with my arsenal of cold fighters!

Paula

Yep, I'm a "never-get-sick-er" too. :-)

Same here, rarely get any colds/flu, have 4 kids bringing stuff home from school, now that it is brought up, its an interesting observation. However, when I get sick, I get REALLY sick, although that could just be that I am male, we are wimps at the best of times. Seriously though, is AS really an overactive immune system, is it bacterial, do we really know? More to think about on this journey...
GS

I don't think it's related. There was a time in my life when I caught everything that came along. Now I get a flu shot every year, and it's been several years since I've had any flu I don't often get colds either, but if I'm close to someone who has a bad one, I will catch it.

I live in a constant state of congestion, but that's about my allergies (basically everything in my house and outside). As for colds, some years I get one or two, other years I don't. This year I've felt the warning signs a couple of times, but nothings actually happened.

Don't know if it's AS/overactive immune system related or not.

Hugs,

There has been several posts/threads about HLA-B27 and immune responses to viral infections. Here's two of them:

www.kickas.org/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=181836&page=&fpart=all&vc=1

A link from Evelyn:

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=retrieve&db=pubmed&list_uids=12154202&dopt=Abstract

Hi
I have long suspected that having AS has given me immunity to colds and flu.Having AS is hard enough so to be on the safe side I'm in the habit of taking a multivitamine pill every day (year round).The most I feel of a cold is that early sore throught that would kick it off.It always ends right there and in a few hrs. or a day at the most I'm all better.So for me,I believe that it is between AS and the multivitamine,that keeps me cold free.
Ray

Same here

All colleagues at work recently got a cold (don't think it was the flu) one after the other. I was the only one who didn't get it . Last time I had a real cold (and should perhaps have stayed at home from work, but didn't) was in 1992. After that I may have had some occasional "weekend colds", which lasts between Friday and Sunday, a few years apart. I've never got a flu shot and I've never got the flu in my entire life (knock wood), at least as long I can remember, 30 years back. I'm on both MTX and Remicade which is supposed to make you more suscebtible to get infections, but still hasn't noticed anything of that (again touch wood).

/Mattias